Alec Baldwin’s Talk Show Yanked By MSNBC Following Anti-Gay Slur

The former 30 Rock star hosts the talk show Up Late on MSNBC. However, the cable network decided to pull the plug on the program for two weeks after the actor used an anti-gay slur during a confrontation with a photographer.

Gawker reports that Alec Baldwin called the guy a “c***sucking f**” during an altercation on Thursday. According to reports, the photographer was attempting to snap shots of the actor and his family as they attempted to leave their Manhattan apartment.

Although Baldwin previously stated that he called the opportunistic shutterbug a “fathead,” a video posted by TMZ suggests something else entirely. Since nobody was buying his story, the actor eventually issued a formal apology through MSNBC on Friday.

The statement read:

“I did not intend to hurt or offend anyone with my choice of words, but clearly I have — and for that I am deeply sorry. Words are important. I understand that, and will choose mine with great care going forward. What I said and did this week, as I was trying to protect my family, was offensive and unacceptable. Behavior like this undermines hard-fought rights that I vigorously support. I understand ‘Up Late’ will be taken off the schedule for tonight and next week.”

Despite issuing an apology, the damage is already done. Not only is Alec Baldwin’s late-night chat program off the air for a few weeks, the folks at GLADD refused to accept his apology. Although the actor said that “anti-gay slurs are wrong,” a spokesperson for the organization isn’t ready to forgive Baldwin just yet.

“Mr. Baldwin can’t lend his support for equality on paper, while degrading gay people in practice. It’s clearly time he listens to the calls from so many LGBT people and allies to end this pattern of anti-gay slurs,” a representative recently told RumorFix.

According to the New York Daily News, Anderson Cooper also had a few choice words for Alec Baldwin. The CNN host was quick to point out this isn’t the first time the Beetlejuice star has used such vulgar language during a heated exchange.

“Alec Baldwin shows his true colors yet again. How is he going to lie and excuse his anti-gay slurs this time?” Cooper wrote on Twitter.

The website also suggests that Up Late was already on the chopping block before Baldwin’s vulgar comments. The show’s ratings have reportedly plummeted since its October 11 debut. If the backlash against the actor continues to grow, then the show could vanish completely.

What do you think about Alec Baldwin’s MSNBC show getting suspended following his most recent anti-gay slur? Do you think the network should cancel the program altogether?